Lost in the City
by Mad Bertha
Summary: A little girl is lost in New York. Definitely fluff.


Fluff! Draws on comic characterisation of Rorschach (i.e. scenes not included in film)  
Summary: A little girl is lost in New York

_Written for the kinkmeme to celebrate Rorschach turning 70 on March 21, 2010._

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It is the first time she'd ever been in New York. She is wearing her newest, nicest dress, the one with the yellow wide ribbon around her waist. The buildings are so tall! She can hardly see the tops of them, and has to stretch her neck and tilt her head far far back to look all the way up. The sun flares into her eyes and she has to stop and close them for a little while. When she opens them, she can't see Mum anywhere around.

A man in a suit almost knocks her down, he gives a quick look to see if she's okay, and then walks on. In her throat, a scream builds up and never reaches voice. Her heart pounds, and she throws her gaze everywhere. People continue to bump into her, and she ends up sitting on the sidewalk as New York streams around her. The heat floods her eyes and she can't dam it up any more, streams flow down her cheeks and drop off the end of her chin; her nose is blocked but she doesn't have a hanky with her.

Will she come back? She always does, and she always finds her. But this is not their local Walmart. Look around--she could have gone up that street, or this one here. She could walk around forever and not find her. There's no lost and found booth as far as she can see. No intercom to call out her mother's name. Nowhere to go.

The world takes on watery colours, and cars honk and pass in front of her. She seems to be taking a long time and she's realizing it's been ages since she last drank or ate anything. A shadow falls across the ground where she's sitting. She turns around, looking up and squeaks when she wants to scream, her voice gone. A stern face hovers over her, in front of a tall sign, crudely-painted with words, more like her writing than her mum's, "The End is Nigh." He's got wild red hair and a fuzz around his mouth and chin--he looks like the crazy man in town. Smells like him too. Mum'd told her not to stare at him, and shushed her when she tried to ask questions. Later, Mum said that there were people who had some problems in their head, and it was better for a little girl like her not to talk to them or even look them in the eyes.

So she tries not to look at him, until he says to her, "Right not to trust me. Should never let a stranger get too close." She looks at him, and he has a tiny little smile at a corner of his mouth. "Nevertheless, someone has to take you to the police station. Were you in the city with your mother or father?" he inquires, with a tilt of his head. He doesn't seem so crazy after all. She tells him Mum's name and he holds out his hand. After a moment's hesitation, she takes it, and it's rough and bumpy but firm. That's when she finds out his name is Walter. He asks her if she's hungry and she nods, although she feels a bit bad because she's seen people like him and they're usually asking for money.

He takes her into a place with a purple elephant and orders burgers and coke for both of them. While they wait, he shows her a trick you can do with a napkin and tomato sauce--you pour blobs and squiggly lines all over the napkin and then you fold it in half. It is important to hold the folded napkin very still and not shift it around; she knows because he let her do it. Feeling braver, she points out that the 't' is missing at the end of his sign and a short laugh bursts out of him before he agrees solemnly. He asks her about her home and her mother and she doesn't mind telling him--he's very quiet, but he looks at her with a seriousness and attention she rarely gets, most adults laugh when she opens her mouth. Pretty soon, she's also telling him all about school and the neighbour's dog.

At the station, he tries to motion her to go in on her own, but she starts to cry. He takes her hand and walks in with her and this time he holds her hand really really tight as he talks to the policeman behind the tall counter. It's funny, she doesn't remember telling him the name of their town or anything, but he seems to know a few things about her that he now relays to the officer. They are brought into another little room to wait and the police officer gives her crayons and paper and an old coloring-in book--most of the pages have been filled up, some badly, and some very beautifully. So she draws flowers and houses and, each time she finishes, shows them to Walter, who looks at them approvingly, commenting on her use of color.

When Mum finally does come--and it's the first time she's seen her crying--she wants to introduce her to Walter, but he's gone. All she has is the tomato sauce painting to show her. Mum promises to frame it up in her room when they get home, so she keeps hold of it all the way back.


End file.
